Prof Melissa de Zwart and Research Assistant Joel Lisk have influenced the development of regulation of space activities. Their work  has recently been heavily cited in a Senate Economics Committee report on the current Space Activities Amendment (Launches and Returns) Bill 2018.

Currently before the Lower House of the Federal Parliament, the Bill aims to reform the current commercial space legislation in Australia by modernising the existing legal framework surrounding the launch of rockets and satellites by Australians.

Drawing on their research into the commercial space industry, Professor Melissa de Zwart (Dean of Law) and Research Assistant and undergraduate student Joel Lisk authored a substantial submission to the Senate Economics Committee outlining the highlights and areas of improvement in the current proposed legislation. This submission drew on a variety of international practices, commercial concerns and current regulatory best practices.

The Committee, in their final report, relied heavily submission to provide background as to the Australian Space Industry, the development of the law in this area, and the implications of any legislation on companies wanting to enter the space industry.

This prominent focus by the committee on the Adelaide Law School’s submission reaffirms the Adelaide Law School as the leading space law institution in Australia; both in the commercial and international law contexts.

The submission can be viewed at: https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=f0da69bb-b60d-465e-9c3d-069ddc4d5321&subId=613084

The final report of the Senate Economics Committee can be found at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/SpaceActivitiesBill18/Report